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Canada sells out science

By Phil PlaitSlate

Posted:
05/15/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT

A map of relic radiation (microwave sky) from the Big Bang, composed of data gathered by ESA's Planck satellite, launched in May 2009 to study Cosmic Microwave Background. Author and astronomist Phil Plait says the Canadian government and the NRC have literally sold out science. (AFP photo/ESA/LFI & HFI Consortia)

Over the past few years, the Canadian government has been lurching into anti-science territory. For example, they've been muzzling scientists, essentially censoring them from talking about their research. Scientists have fought back against this, though from what I read with limited success.

But a new development makes the situation appear to be far worse. In a stunning announcement, the National Research Council — the Canadian scientific research and development agency — has now said that it will only perform research that has "social or economic gain."

John MacDougal, president of the NRC, said, "Scientific discovery is not valuable unless it has commercial value." Gary Goodyear, the Canadian Minister of State for Science and Technology, also stated "There is [sic] only two reasons why we do science and technology. First is to create knowledge ... second is to use that knowledge for social and economic benefit. Unfortunately, all too often the knowledge gained is opportunity lost."

I had to read the Toronto Sun article two or three times to make sure I wasn't missing something, because I was thinking that no one could possibly utter such colossally ignorant statements. These two men — leaders in the Canadian scientific research community — were saying, out loud and clearly, that the only science worth doing is what lines the pocket of business.

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This is monumentally backwards thinking. That is not the reason we do science. Economic benefits are results of doing research, but should not be the reason we do it. Basic scientific research is a vast endeavor, and some of it will pay off economically, and some won't. In almost every case, you cannot know in advance which will do which.

In the 19th century, for example, James Clerk Maxwell was just interested in understanding electricity and magnetism. He didn't do it for monetary benefit, to support a business or to maximize a profit. Yet his research led to the foundation of our entire economy today. Computers, the Internet, communication, satellites, everything you plug in or that uses a battery, stem from the work he did simply because of his own curiosity. I strongly suspect that if he were to apply to the National Research Council for funding under this new regime, he'd be turned down flat. The kind of work Maxwell did then is very difficult to do without support these days, and we need governments to provide that help.

Goodyear did throw in a mention of "social benefit," and I'll agree that does motivate many scientists — making life better for people is a strong incentive — but again, you cannot always know what research will do that and what won't.

And that's OK, because it's not like the money is wasted when invested in science. For one thing, the amount of money we're talking about here is tiny compared to a national budget. For another, investment in science always pays off. Always, and at a very high rate. If you want to boost your economy in the middle and long run, one of the best ways to do it is invest in science.

But the Canadian government is doing the precise opposite. If proposed and immediate economic benefits are the prime factors in choosing what science to fund, then the freedom of this human endeavor will be critically curtailed. It's draining the passion and heart out of one of the best things we humans do.

By doing this, the Canadian government and the NRC have literally sold out science.

Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is author of "Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing 'Hoax' " and "Death from the Skies! These Are the Ways the Universe Will End." He lives in Boulder.